Crescent Moon
by Lady-Daine
Summary: Chapt. 9 up! Arinomialwen looks to her memories,... S: Two must learn what true friendship is and become strong enough to forgive. Then, when castrophe strikes, can they overcome all?
1. prologue

Okay, this starts about 10 years after the Return of the King has ended, and Legolas is back in his home. This is also assuming that he is the heir to the throne. He has a best friend; their childhood will be explained in more detail in later chapters. This is more a prologue then anything else. Bear with me on the little details (such as a war going on in Middle earth, and Thranduil being gone, twill all be explained in later chapters. If I get reviewed (meaning I know that people actually read this story) I'll continue. This is based on aspects of the BOOK and not the movie, and there are spoilers for the two towers in later chapters. Some peoples might think that it starts with Ariomialwen being a Mary-sue. She's not going to be trust me!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own LOTR obviously (though I wish I did) I do own Ariomialwen so don't take her from me!  
  
Ariomialwen strode into the main hall of the palace where Legolas was assembled with his men. One of them, which she recognized as a general was giving reports. "Is what I head true?" She asked him, her voice shaking in anger. "I don't think that the orders I heard were from the mouth the elf that I've known for my entire life!" Legolas turned to her, surprised. "What is wrong, cloud?" He used her childhood nickname. "What did you hear?" he didn't remember the last time that his best friend had spoken to him or anyone in such anger. "A group of human travelers, refugees of war set camp on the edge of Mirkwood. There are about 300 of them, mostly women and children." Legolas inclined his head slightly. He didn't like where this was going. Ariomialwen continued, "They were over taken by a band of orcs, and are not faring well. You sent not a single soldier to help them, to prevent them from being tortured to a horrible death?" Legolas avoided her eyes as he responded, "I could not spare one with the war coming towards Mirkwood. Besides, our affairs are not with humans. With My father's absence, I wish I could send many troops to several places, but I have so few at my disposal." He cringed for her response. When the lord of Mirkwood had left, Legolas had raised to the temporary position of King, proving himself a true leader. It had been hard to stand up to all the authorities and advisors of his father's court, but standing up to his best friend proved to be even harder. "You are just letting them die then!" Some of the officers around Legolas looked at the ground. Just like Legolas they were trapped. Legolas had to give orders that benefited only his people, and the officers had to follow them. Some didn't even cringe; they had poor opinion of men and cared little for what happened to them. Ariomialwen glared at all of them. "I have no choices, besides, I need to keep my people safe and comfortable. If I let out troops for humans, what would they think?" He hated himself more and more for every word he spoke, but he knew that he had no choice. His father had once told him that a king needed to be cruel sometimes, to be a better king later. He knew how Ariomialwen felt about all creatures, he hated himself because he knew she was right and he couldn't do a thing about it." "The Legolas I know would not think twice." "The Legolas you know hasn't had to rule an entire country. This is no time to argue with me! Ariomialwen, this will have to wait, I need to speak with." She cut him off. "If you will not send your people to protect innocents, then I will do it alone!" Legolas was firm in his next remark. Trying to help Humans so outnumbered by orcs would be certain death. He might make her suffer now, but she would still be alive. "You will not, you will stay in the castle!" It occurred to him now that she was already prepared for his response. She had a bag with her as well as her bow and elvish knives. Instead of a nice dress that would be usually worn for dinner, she wore a traveling skirt of pale lilac, with a sturdy white blouse and an emerald green cloak. "You can not order me around! I go where I please." She glared into his eyes, seeming to bore holes into his skin. He could not hold her gaze and looked away, before replying, torturing himself with every word that he forced out of his mouth. "I can, and I will. I am in charge in my father's absence, and I am your King. I order you to stay here!" She looked into his eyes again, but this time tears were streaming down her cheeks and ran with all her might towards the entrance. Before anyone could stop her, she was out and running towards Mirkwood forest.  
  
As soon as the shock of her outburst had worn off, Legolas burst out the door after her. The officers didn't even try to stop him; they knew it would be no use.  
  
He raced after her, Even though she was a fast sprinter; Legolas was easily the better of the two. Quickly, he grabbed her, yanking her to the ground as they both tumbled and fell into the underbrush of the forest. She struggled violently, trying with all her might to get up, to get away from him, but it was no use. He pinned her down as best he could without hurting her.  
  
"Hold still!" he exclaimed. "I just want to talk to you."  
  
"Let me go! We have nothing to talk about, I will go my own way, you cannot stop me, or I will. I'll kill you!" This remark stung Legolas even more then any physical blow could. Finally Ariomialwen realized that escape was hopeless and stopped struggling, defeated. She turned away from him.  
  
"Look at me!" Legolas demanded, more harshly that he wanted. "Let me go!" She demanded, equally harsh "Will you run away?" "Yes." "Then I will not let you go then." Legolas used on hand to pull her head up so that she had to face him. Every movement hurt him, but he would not lose his friend. As soon as he made himself look at her face, he wished with all his heart that he hadn't. He saw sadness, anger and disappointment of him in her face. Each of these feelings tore at his heart, but what split it open was a glint of fear in her eyes. Quickly her rolled off her so that she could get up. She just lay there, silently crying. Finally he said,  
  
"Cloud, please, listen, I was wrong, forgive." She stood up and looked at him with almost unseeing eyes, as though all her spirit had left them. She stood to and quickly walked toward her, putting an arm out to touch her hand. As soon as he touched it, she recoiled, as though he had struck her instead of lightly touched her hand. he reaction made him take a step back from her. How long they stood in silence, neither of them knew, until finally Ariomialwen took a step backwards. She had never been one to be quiet, usually she told every exactly how she felt, and never actually had learned to keep her mouth shut. It would have wounded Legolas less if she had screamed and shouted about how much she hated him for his actions.  
  
She pulled something off her neck; it was a present that Legolas had given her years ago as a present of eternal friendship. It was a tiny perfectly silver crafted bottle shaped like a crescent moon hung on a piece of cord. Because she had loved healing things, elves, animals, and man alike, it contained one of the strongest healing potions that money could buy. She had treasured it, as Legolas has treasured the fine dagger that she had given him, it now hung at his waist. Either of them would have treasured a scrap of paper if the other had given it to them. It wasn't so much the object that the cherished, but each other.  
  
Ariomialwen took another step back. Then she ran..  
  
I'll write more if people want me too, but tell me, is it crap? Is it ok? I'll also take ideas. Please R/R!!!!  
  
Lady-Daine 


	2. searing conflict

Ok, well since I actually got reviews, I'll try to write more. This story rather popped into my head, so I'm really not sure where it will go, so please tell me what you think of it and I'll gladly take suggestions! Just some notes to specific reviewers:  
  
BQ: sorry about the spacing, I do try to space it out but I can't figure out how to make it easier to read. I did notice the weird spacing. Any ideas on how to fix it?  
  
Canon Police: I said this was assuming the Legolas was the heir to the throne, and assuming a lot of things. A lot of stories on fan fiction as assuming things, of course it's not accurate! I am aware of Legolas's whereabouts after the end of the return of the king. Being booked based just means that if I so chose to bring memories from the Fellowship of the ring, I will include details from the book, not the movie. Also, as far as I know, this is not a site that scrutinizes fashion. If I want my heroine to wear Lilac and emerald green, then she will wear it. Besides, as you will find out in later chapters, she was in a hurry! Please don't insult my sense of fashion in reviews, considering it has nothing to do with the writing. If you still feel so inclined to insult it, then please tell me what is wrong with it.  
  
Thank you other reviewers for nice comments, I just like to answer readers when they give helpful (or un helpful) critique!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Lord of the rings, but I do own Ariomialwen and her fashionless Lilac and Emerald green. I also own Trandian Treesong, and I am aware that he is a fictional character, not from the book or the movie.  
  
Legolas was too dumfounded to move. What he wanted most was to chase after her, and bring her back. However, the look in her eyes was just too terrible to bear. Memories of their childhood together swooped down on him like birds of prey. So many times that they had argued and fought, and in the end made up with each other, all in one sitting. She would playfully call him his childhood nick nickname, Leggy, partly because of his name, and partly because during adolescence, his legs had been too big for the rest of his body, and often he found himself tripping over himself. In return he had called her cloud, because she daydreamed way too much in their academic classes. Cloud had stuck; he made her stop calling him Leggy when they had turned 2000, and Legolas had become a handsome young elf. How much he wanted to hear her call him that now, but she was gone.  
  
Legolas found he was trapped in a memory of one occasion in their younger years when he had tripped over himself and fallen into a mud puddle. Ariomialwen had found him there and was mercilessly taunting him, when he grabbed on of her ankles and tugged her down into the puddle where they wrestled for the privilege of standing up first, until Thranduil had found them and had demanded to know what they were doing in such a state only minutes before a banquet. The lord of Mirkwood picked both of them up, and dumped them into one of the nearby fountains. It was a memory that would have brought tears of laughter to his eyes. But the tears that came were not of mirth. Ariomialwen was the daughter of Mirkwood's chief general, Trandian Treesong, who was also one of Thranduil's chief advisors and closet friends, so Ariomialwen had grown up calling Thranduil "uncle". Ariomialwen Never knew her mother. Trandian was currently with Thranduil who was on his was to Rivendell to serve on the council who was too decide of what to do about the threat of upcoming war.  
  
Indeed, a war was upon Middle Earth once again. Though the war of the ring was long done, the Orcs were not completely vanquished. Someone, or something had organized many of the little leftover clans of Orcs together. They were raiding villages, causing many refugees but their numbers were growing, and it seemed that it might go to all out War. The council was calling all the wisest to go to Rivendell, to see what might be found out about this new organizations. Thranduil had decided to go and left Legolas in charge.  
  
Legolas thoughts were interrupted as a voice called out from behind him,  
  
"My Prince!" One of his general's, and one of the stuffiest elves that Legolas knew came from behind him with a small group of soldiers. "Your Highness, you must return to the palace. With the threat of Orcs." He stopped when Legolas turned to face him. The coldness of the Prince's eyes was startling. What Legolas most wanted to do was to run after his friend again, to stop her and take her to the palace, whether he had to drag her or not. However, by now she would have gotten far enough that by the time he found her, the Orcs that had attacked the human refugees. If he were killed, Mirkwood would have gone into turmoil. He was the only son (I know this isn't tree, please bear with my active imagination) and thus the only heir.  
  
"We will go back to the palace." Legolas agreed in an empty voice. He turned and picked up the crescent moon necklace. Turning back around he said,  
  
"But. Send those soldiers after the Lady Ariomialwen, and...Bring her back, whatever it takes. please."  
  
"My lord, that is not a good ideas, with the threat, we need all of our.." "Do it!" Legolas screamed. The general bowed silently and signaled to the soldiers behind him. Finally Legolas allowed himself to be steered back to the palace while a few of the soldiers went on to find his friend.  
  
Ariomialwen rushed on through the forest, partly because she wanted to get away from her "best friend" and partly because she wanted to see if thee was anything she could do for the refugees. She had barely any idea what she would do after that. She was not going back to that. Prince who had betrayed her so. The look in his eyes when she struggled to get away from him was so frightening to her. that he had not let her go. He had scared her. That boy with whom she had wrestled in mud with had done something that he knew would hurt her, and then tried to keep her from leaving. What hurt the most was the knowledge that she still loved her best friend. If she had hated him, then she might have been able to move on in life, but the fact that she loved him. "I do hate him!" she screamed out loud, but the words were hollow and she knew that she couldn't lie to herself. I could be a traveling healer, she thought, helping everyone who needs me. But the one who would need the most healing would be me.  
  
Running to the edge of Mirkwood would have exhausted even the fittest elf, but Ariomialwen ran with the strength of one who was trying to escape the thing that they feared most, and she reached her destination quickly, not knowing how much she was tiring herself. What she saw was not promising. The ground was littered with gore and countless bodies; wagons were turned over, and ransacked. There were some dead Orcs, but most were the humans; they had been taken by surprise and could not defend themselves, even if they had known about the attack. What surprised her most, was that there didn't seem to be any people or good taken. The sole goal of this attack was to kill? She wondered. What kind of sick being would do that?  
  
The elf fell to her knees, blonde hair streaming behind her, tangled from her run. Most tears fell from sea green eyes as she thought of men, women and children who suffered here so that some bloodthirsty monsters could enjoy ripping them to pieces. Perhaps I'll kill a few of these monsters, she thought. It would take my mind off of. him.  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft snarl from behind her. She turned with knives unsheathed just in time to block a crude sword. Apparently the Orcs had not all left their latest killing scene. Ariomialwen found herself facing one of the ugliest creatures she had ever seen. She had served on border patrols, fighting the occasional raiding party, but this Orc was not like the ones that she had helped to vanquish. It was about twice as tall, with a thick body dripping gore. Black eyes looked at her with sinister, murderous glee. It swung at her with its sword, the sheer force that hit her blades sending a horrendous vibration through her. It was all she could do to keep standing up. The Orc snarled and swung at her again. She dodged and lowered herself into a defense stance. The Orc was a skilled swordsmen, it did quite a bit more then just swing at her. No matter what trick she tried, it seemed to know exactly where she was going and blocked her move while jabbing at her.  
  
Ariomialwen fought for dear life, swinging and dodging, but succeeding very little. The Orc lunged toward her left side, too quickly for her to block slitting her arm from elbow to wrist. She dropped her left blade, screaming from the pain.  
  
Though she was a skilled warrior, the elf was losing blood and could not keep up with a single blade. The Orc achieved many smaller scratches on her until she fell to her knees. It cackled in some kind of twisted triumph before raising its sword for the final blow. Ariomialwen bowed her head. At least the pain would be over. Before the blow would come down, the Orc made another noise, a muffled gurgle. The elf used the last of her strength to roll away as it fell on the spot were she had just been. There was a single elvish arrow in the creature's back.  
  
Blackness was rolling in on Ariomialwen. She lay back, thinking that it was the end. She felt somehow calm, perhaps because she would not have to live with the horrors of the evening. The last thing she heard was elvish voices whispering around her because darkness fell. 


	3. shattered heart

Hello Again, thanks for any reviews!! I just wanted to note that I've put up the first three chapters very quickly. I'm not going to be able to put up a lot of chapter at a time because I'm very busy with school and other activities, I'm not going to leave anyone hanging, but expect about 2 chapters a week, three if I have a lot of time. I have come to the attention that many of my characters are o.o.c. I am aware of that.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Lord of the rings, but I do own Ariomialwen and Trandian Treesong. Don't take them from me please!  
  
Legolas paced his room, his obvious feelings locked up inside of him. If he had ever been this upset before, he would have gone and told his friend. but now that was obviously impossible. Thought it was close to dawn, he had gotten no sleep since earlier that evening.  
  
"Why did she have to be so darn stubborn? She knew the pressure of being left in charge and she-!" Legolas screamed out loud, and then clamped his mouth shut, determined not to be heard by anyone else who might be around his chambers. To vent his feelings he picked up a pillow from his bed and threw it across the room. It hit the wall and fell limply to the ground.  
  
"Stupid girl, I don't even know why I liked her. She was a man lover!" Even as he screamed the words to himself in anguish, he knew that they were not true. She was half of him, as he was half of her. He had known that someday-royal privilege might get in the way of their friendship. When he had gone on the quest for the ring, directly before which they have exchanged gifts, Legolas had worried that absence might dim their friendship, but when he returned, it burned brighter then ever. She was the only elf who really ever understood his undying friendship with Gimli the dwarf, whom she had met and become fond of, and she adored Aragorn, Gandalf, and the hobbits as well. Legolas had worried about trouble when his father left, but nothing like this. Suddenly a voice was heard at the door.  
  
"Your highness, we have the lady Ariomialwen back, but-" The door flew open, startling the soldier that was making the report. "Where is she?" Legolas asked urgently. "What happened?"  
  
"Sir, she was fighting an Orc at the ruins of the refugee camp. It was huge, and she was badly hurt. She'll live, but-"  
  
"Where is she?" Legolas asked. "In her rooms, your highness." Legolas bounded out of his rooms, nearly running over the soldier.  
  
The blackness that surrounded Ariomialwen slowly sifted away, letting pain all around her sink in. Her left arm throbbed unremittingly, and her entire body was covered with scratches. She groaned, remembering the fight with the Orc and being carried back through the forest. The room around her was all too familiar; it was her own. She looked at her arm; it was heavily bandaged and splinted; the Orc must have severed the bone in it. Healing salve and other bandages covered the heavier scratches; other, less serious wounds were uncovered. Judging by the headache and weakness that she felt, most likely from blood loss, she wasn't going to be able to leave again for several days. She didn't even know if she would try to escape. Perhaps is she explained things to her father he would let her go live in Rivendell with Elrond, or Gondor with Arwen. One thing she knew; she wasn't staying here. Her head began to throb from brooding, so she decided to leave the subject of what she would say to whom for when she could think more clearly.  
  
The Door opened, and Legolas walked in with trepidation. Quickly Ariomialwen pretended to be asleep hoping that he would just leave. Instead he say down on the side of her bed and gently touched her cheek. How bad she wished that he would go away, but it was obvious that he was not planning to if she continued to feign sleep.  
  
"Go away Legolas!" she told him without opening her eyes.  
  
"Cloud," he seemed surprised that she was awake. "Please, you have to listen to me!" "You didn't listen to me when I told you that innocent people were going to die, and now 300 are dead!" Ariomialwen opened her eyes and glared at him. "Leave me be, I leave at first dawn." She knew that the words were absurd. She was going to be in bed for several days, but the words came out of her mouth anyway. Legolas knew the same thing, and he knew that it would be incongruous to argue with her.  
  
"Cloud, you know that I-"  
  
"Go away Legolas." She turned away from him.  
  
"I am not going to leave until you hear me out." Ariomialwen indignantly forced herself to climb out of the bed, though it felt like she was carrying lead weight on her body. "Then I will leave." As soon as she put both feet on the ground, she found that she couldn't support her own weight. Legolas caught her as she fell, and despite violent protests, put her back on the bed. His touch was a painful reminder of their struggle in the forest, and she quickly squirmed away from him until she was on the opposite edge of the bed that he sat on.  
  
"Now listen to me!" Legolas was growing resentful at her refusal to listen to the explanation that he had tried to give her since she ran from the castle that evening. "You're, you're my best friend cloud, but royal obligations have to-" The words royal obligation sent her temper loose. She cut him off.  
  
"I hate you!" she screamed. "I hate you, and your stupid castle, and your stupid country. I hate you! Go away, and leave me. It is entirely your fault that an Orc nearly chopped me to pieces, and it is your fault that 300 men, women, and children are now dead. They had nothing to do with your stupid royal obligation! I wish that I had never met you Legolas Greenleaf. Go find another friend. I hate you!" With her last word she dove under the comforter, sobbing.  
  
Legolas dropped the crescent moon that he had hoped to give back to her on the floor and left the room without another word, though in the silence her swore that he could hear his heart crack into millions of pieces. 


	4. Old friends

Hello again to all peoples reading this story.. Sorry it took so long to put up another chapter, Marching band has been really tough. I'll try to get another one up on Sunday or Monday.  
  
Special note to Courtney: if you ever open your mouth again and tell people things that they aren't supposed to know then I will kill Legolas in this story. I might anyway, but I will if you can't keep your mouth shut.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of lord of the rings, only the character Arinomialwen. don't take her please!!  
  
Arinomalwen clutched her blankets to her, wondering if she was sorry or not about what she did. He emotions swirled around her. Legolas had hurt her, but she had also hurt him, probably at least as much. Unfortunately for both parties, she was extremely stubborn and at least for now was too proud to apologize to her best friend.  
  
Legolas returned to his rooms to find that they were in a disaster. He wondered vaguely how they had gotten that way, only to remember that he had thrown his stuff around in a rage earlier. He sat on the bed, almost completely numb, for what seemed to him like only a few seconds, but must have been hours because when he looked out the window, it was full daylight. What had awakened him from his trance were loud knocks on the door and voices that were too familiar coming in.  
  
"Open up you poncy elf, what're you doing in there."  
  
'Honestly, we heard that you were left in charge, so we came rushing over to save Mirkwood from your evil hands."  
  
Legolas bounded to the door and opened it before the second voice had finished.  
  
"What in the world are you doing here? Estel? Gimli?"  
  
"We came to save Mirkwood." Gimli said in a falsely noble voice.  
  
"We were in the area," said Aragorn "And we thought that we'd drop by" The look of astonishment on Legolas's face had wiped the sadness from his eyes, but now it came back slowly. Someone who didn't know Legolas quite as well would have taken longer to notice, but the two who had been on many journeys with him noticed right away.  
  
"What is it Legolas?" Gimli asked in a quieter voice, noticing the lack of happiness that should have crossed Legolas's face when he found that two old friends had come to visit. Legolas had meant to say absolutely nothing to no one, including his father, but the meeting of two old friends with whom he had shared everything with caught him off guard. The entire thing came tumbling out before the elf could stop himself.  
  
When he finished, Aragorn nodded wisely "I've seen that happen more then once in my travels. It's hard Legolas, you must continue to try to talk to her though."  
  
"But, she wouldn't listen." Legolas protested  
  
"Then make her." Gimli replied.  
  
"I tried," the elf continued to protest, "but-"  
  
"They try in another way." Gimli responded before the elf could finish his sentence. Legolas sighed. For a dwarf, Gimli was too insightful for his own good.  
  
"Estel, could you, speak to her for me?" Aragorn knew it wouldn't work but the pleading look in the elf's brown eyes was too much for a friend to resist.  
  
"I will try," he said doubtfully.  
  
Arinomialwen was still brooding when another knock sounded at the door.  
  
"Go away Legolas, I do not want to talk to you!" she yelled.  
  
"What if I'm not Legolas?" came a voice as the door opened." Arinomialwen looked sheepishly up at the human ranger who entered the room.  
  
"Uh, hello Estel, what brings you here?" She asked awkwardly. The man smiled knowingly at her.  
  
"Why is it now that you don't want to talk to Legolas?" Aragorn asked kindly but firmly. Something about the tone of voice that Aragorn used caused Arinomialwen's temper to flare up again.  
  
"Nothing Ranger, perhaps you should mind your own business." Aragorn knew that this was the answer that he would receive, but the tone of voice from someone that he was fond of was hard to take. He began to walk off silently with a simple nod to the elf. Arinomialwen was suddenly ashamed at taking out her anger on someone completely uninvolved in her dilemma. As Aragorn opened the door to leave, a small voice behind him said,  
  
"Estel, I am sorry, I did not mean to unleash my temper on you. Please, what has happened if between me. and that.prince, and we, will resolve it on our own." Estel smiled the smallest of smiles, nodded and left.  
  
Though the dwarf and man had come to help their friend rule, they didn't anticipate how trying the next few days would be. Legolas went from being a strong ruler too hardly caring at all about the affairs of his people. The two had to make him leave his room for meals and meetings, and had to prompt him to make decisions about the kingdom, all under the disapproving eye of the councils of Mirkwood. Arinomialwen had managed to convince the castle healers that she was well enough to leave her room and was up and about. Legolas sometimes glimpsed her when entering a room, but only for a second because she would drop whatever she was doing in it and dash out. She also took her meals outside of the main hall where people ate with the prince and his council, so he never saw her anytime but when she was avoiding him. After a week, Gimli tried an approach with her.  
  
Arinomialwen was sitting in the library reading a novel about the history of Mirkwood when Gimli strode in, looking harassed and depressed. Arinomialwen looked up quickly, and, satisfied that it was not Legolas, settled back down to her book. There was no one else in the Library, so Gimli raised his voice to a shout.  
  
"Do you know how much you're hurting him? Someone asked him today how many soldiers he wanted patrolling the north wall and do you know what he said. He said I don't care!" Arinomialwen looked up startled at the dwarf's sudden statement. She had liked him when they meant, partly because he had always been so opened minded about her, but also how friendly and outgoing he was. Because of all his visits, they were very good friends.  
  
"Did Legolas tell you what he did to me as well? Or did he just tell you that I was hurting him for no reason at all."  
  
"He told me the whole story," Gimli said gruffly, "And he's tried to apologize to you many times."  
  
"Yeah, well sometimes a word of regret isn't enough." The elf was standing up now, and her well-brushed hair was streaming around her face.  
  
"He's done more then that, and you know it elf! You just want to remain angry with him for your own sadistic reasons. Do you play with his feelings like a toy, girl? I hope you're having fun because you're ruining an entire life, and jeopardizing your country!" Gimli was tremendously livid now; having his good friend hurt for what seemed to him silly reasons.  
  
Arinomialwen had never been accused of something of the nature before.  
  
"I am doing no such thing. I intend to leave his life, and his country behind, I thought the sooner he learns to not see me, the better. I hate him, and I always will for eternity!"  
  
Gimli opened his mouth to shout a reply and then closed it again. Then he said sadly,  
  
"If you cannot forgive him, then you do not deserve him." he quietly walked out of the library, shaking his head. Arinomialwen sat down and pretended to go back to her book, but tears streamed down her cheeks. 


	5. knife in the night

Hello peoples, thanks for reading and bearing with me. I actually have some free time (*wow!) so I'm gonna write another chapter, though it might be rather short. I'm sorry for the spacing issues, it's not my fault, I know basic English paragraphing, its just that my computer messes it up when I post it, but I'll try to make it easier to read  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing from lord of the rings. The only thing that I do own is Arinomialwen do not steal her from me or else: brandishes colorguard saber: j/k just don't take her from me  
  
Note: this is not going to be one of those "Legolas is sadistic" fics, promise. Even if it looks like it, I just need to give the readers an idea of how much pain he's in. Don't worry. I also know that some characters are o.o.c. But it's needed for this fiction.  
  
Legolas stared intently at the council surrounding him. He hadn't felt alive for weeks, and he couldn't remember the last time that he had cared about anything at all. What had brought him to care about anything right now was the scene that he had overheard in the Library. He had resided in there all evening, and upon seeing Arinomialwen enter the room had fled to behind a bookshelf so that she wouldn't leave. He had watched everything; when Gimli entered the room and tried his own method with the girl, and then after he left, how the tears fell from her eyes. How much pain she was in, and though it hurt him as though the tears were his own, he had loved watching them, and enjoying the pain that it gave him, as well as her. Gimli had said that word last night, was it sadistic? Sadistic, was enjoying pain. Perhaps he was sadistic, but he didn't know nor care. Her pain, and his had boosted him like a drug, given him something that he would feel, that tore away the numbness that he felt. Perhaps he could recreate it, maybe with a knife.  
  
Across the council table Aragorn and Gimli eyed the blonde elf with worry. A look of demented ecstasy had entered his eyes, and it scared them.  
  
"Yes, I agree, I will patrol the area myself and find a good way to put up a network of defense back there." The entire discussion about defenses stopped as everyone looked at the Prince. He hadn't said a word about anything for weeks, and this was one of several pieces of input that he had added to the meeting. Everyone with the exception of Gimli and Aragorn quickly looked back down again, hiding their surprise. The meeting adjourned and the members left.  
  
~*~  
  
Arinomialwen had cried herself out; no more tears come down her cheeks. Now everyone was against her. they all thought that she just wanted to hurt Legolas... it wasn't true, they didn't know anything, they didn't know about Tirandian. They didn't know that pain that she had suffered through all this time... and they'd never find out. She quickly put a few more items into her travel bag. She was leaving tonight, before anyone could find anymore out, before things could go even more out of her control. She slightly regretted not having her necklace; she wouldn't wear it in an eternity, but the healing potion inside of it would have come in handy. The moon slowly sunk behind some clouds and the sky outside turned pitch black.  
  
  
  
"Oh well" she thought. "I'll just have to find some of my own." The elf put her hair half up so that it didn't get in her way, grabbed her knives, bow, and quiver, shouldered her bag and made for the door.  
  
She was about to open it when it opened on the other end. Arinomialwen jumped back just in time to avoid being smashed with the heave wooden door. Standing outside was Gimli and Estel; both white faced and scared looking. Estel had his sword unsheathed and Gimli held his axe.  
  
"What in heaven and earth are you doing barging into my room?" she asked angrily, trying to hide a surprised face.  
  
"Legolas is gone, he slipped into the forest. We need you to help find him."  
  
"Maybe he went for an evening walk." Arinomialwen said harshly. "Anyway, why would I care what he does. Maybe he wants to be alone."  
  
"If you had even pretended to care about your best friend lately, he's been acting. strange. He's going to try something, and we need to stop him." Gimli yelled in a huff of rage.  
  
"I have no reason to acre about him." Arinomialwen said flatly. Aragorn looked up at her, a look of pleading in his eyes.  
  
"Please, it takes an elf to find on. For me, for God's sake help us! There is no time to confer!" Arinomialwen thought for a moment and said,  
  
"Fine, but only for you Estel."  
  
"That is fine, hurry!" Aragorn quickly turned around to leave. Arinomialwen sighed and followed muttering about ruined plans. The three of them ran through the woods surrounding Mirkwood, thinking it better that no one else knew about their search. If they were right about what Legolas was doing, they didn't want anyone to find out. Arinomialwen frantically tried to find signs of Legolas's path, but like most elves he left none. After what seemed like hours of running aimlessly, Gimli was out of breath and Aragorn was beginning to lose hope. Finally Arinomialwen spoke quietly,  
  
"There's one more place to try. an old childhood. spot. If he's not there, he won't be anywhere."  
  
"Oh, thanks for telling us that little tidbit right away," Gimli gasped sarcastically between breaths of air.  
  
"I.it. It didn't occur to me right away." She replied slightly apologetically. It had just occurred to her but she cursed herself for being stupid enough to forget it. She looked around the dark forest, it was past midnight, and she had wanted to be well out of Mirkwood by now. Oh well, she thought to herself, it could be a going away present for Estel. Arinomialwen led them one a winding path through the forest. It was pitch black and hard to see anything but the elf had walked on this path for her entire life. Finally they found themselves on the edge of the forest.  
  
"Be careful," she whispered to Aragorn and Gimli who came up behind her, now both of them gasping for breathe. "There's a stream on the other side, don't fall in."  
  
"It's a good think that you actually told us this ahead of time, elf, because." Aragorn shushed the outspoken dwarf so not to tell anyone of their arrival. Gimli's comments hurt Arinomialwen but she had other things to concentrate on at the moment. Aragorn peered out into the clearing. His heart skipped a beat and then sank when he saw who was there. Legolas had set out to do exactly what he had been afraid of and praying that he wasn't. Legolas stood at the clearing, tears streaking his face and his knife in one hand. He was looking at the stars and then began slowly to bring it to his throat. The moon came out from behind the clouds, shooting a beam of light that glistened off of Legolas's blade.  
  
"He's going to slit his throat." Aragorn whispered loudly before he could stop himself. Legolas stopped what he was doing and looked toward that clearing where the group watched. Aragorn ducked, just quickly enough to evade Legolas's notice.  
  
"Who's there?" the elf yelled urgently. When there were several moments of silence he turned back to the blade. Arinomialwen peered up to watch, against Aragorn's warning whispers. She watched Legolas bring the knife closer and closer to his throat.  
  
Go ahead, she thought. I don't care, abandon your country, abandon me, and take one more person off the list that I love. It was true. Arinomialwen had only loved 4 other people in her life beside herself of course in different ways. There had been her father, the king of Mirkwood Thranduil, Legolas, and Tirandian. When Tirandian had hurt her, she had endured. But now her list was down to only 3, and two of them were gone for the moment. She had needed Legolas when had had gotten back from his quest, and he had betrayed her. She watched, as Legolas was about to touch his throat. An instinct that had been buried under layers of tears suddenly came out of her, something that she never knew she had. With cries of alarm from both of her companions who had been in some sort of stupor, she ran toward Legolas and reached for the blade, tackling him as they fell in a tumble towards the ground.  
  
"What are you doing?" Legolas snarled angrily at the disturbance that had taken away the peace of the knight.  
  
"What do you think asshole?" (I know they probably didn't have that word, but it describes what she wanted to say quite well) Arinomialwen got painfully up. The fall had hurt.  
  
"Arinomialwen?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Why are you, what did you, why are you here?" Legolas looked at her confusedly.  
  
"What were you doing with that knife Legolas?" She responded with a haughty question.  
  
"I asked first." He responded, annoying her.  
  
"Estel asked for my help. I gave it to him as a friend would." The small bit of hope that had appeared in his eyes was gone. Aragorn and Gimli walked out from behind the tree that they had huddled by. They saw pain in Legolas's eyes, but it was real, not the look of insane ecstasy that they had seen earlier. Arinomialwen turned from him to hide the tears that began to appear in her eyes. She walked to the edge of the clearing and turned around quickly.  
  
"Because, friends have to be there for friends, no matter what. If they abandon them just once, it might be in their time of need. That's why you never turn your back on a friend."  
  
With that she walked back into the forest, leaving man, dwarf and elf to absorb her words. 


	6. falling

Hello peoples!! I'm going to write this chapter, but after this I'm not going to write more until I get at least a few reviews. I know I'm being annoying, but I need to know if people are reading this, or not. so please review!!  
  
This is a cliffhanger, but not the end so don't worry!! (Hahaha)  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing from Lord of the Rings ::sob:: but I do own Arinomialwen so don't take her!  
  
Gimli and Aragorn stared at Legolas, unsure of what to do. The elf was standing there, completely dumbfounded. Finally, Gimli spoke as gently as he could,  
  
"What were you doing with the knife Legolas?" Suddenly, the elf's eyes blazed in anger. He said in a most un-elfish way,  
  
"Why must you meddle in my affairs? Leave me alone!"  
  
"Legolas, we are only trying to help!" Aragorn exclaimed, taking a step towards the elf, worried of what he might do. The man noticed that the knife Legolas had carried lay on the ground where Arinomialwen had dropped it.  
  
"I need no help, I am faring just fine as I am!" The elf quickly ran from the clearing, leaving dwarf and elf alone to ponder what to do about him.  
  
~*~  
  
Legolas paced his room, fuming about the behavior of his "friends" They had tried to question him several times that night about his actions. He had already given up on sleep, and was going to try to leave his room again without the escort of either Gimli or Aragorn who were still keeping watch ride outside his chambers, when there was a sound from above him. He strained his ears for what it was and, upon hearing it again realized that it was a sob. Curiously he went to his window, because the only thing over his room was the roof.  
  
~*~  
  
She tried to run away from him but it was impossible, he was too fast for her, even faster then Legolas.  
  
"Leave me alone!" she screamed, but he only laughed at her and grabbed for her. "What do you want from me?" she asked in despair. He smiled as he tied her hands together.  
  
"Everything."  
  
Arinomialwen woke, gasping and stifling a scream, the cool night air brushing her face gently. It would have been soothing but she was too much in hysterics to care. She had come out to the roof of the castle to think, but had inadvertently fallen asleep and had that dream again..  
  
It had been haunting her since she had been brought back to the palace after her fight with the orc. The poor elf sobbed in despair, for there was no one else to lean on, only herself. She hugged her chin to her knees, suddenly jumping at a sound from below her.  
  
Legolas climbed out onto the roof, seeing the person who was up there. She jumped when she saw him, and began to quickly move away.  
  
"Don't, please!" he cried, but it was useless.  
  
Arinomialwen quickly scrambled away from him, cursing her habit of always settling herself over his room when she wanted to think on the roof. He followed her, but did not have the lightness and quickness that she had achieved from years of climbing around the roof of Mirkwood castle. He had never liked it on top of the place, but she had loved it up here since she discovered that she could climb out of the window onto the roof.  
  
She got to the part where there was a single, narrow flat part that was only about a foot wide with steep sides that fell either directly into the castle moat or into the courtyard. It was a long fall that would not likely be made alive, not even by an elf. Arinomialwen hesitated climbing onto this part, not having done it before, but Legolas was close behind her. She lightly hopped up onto it and began her dissent.  
  
"Stop!" Legolas called. "What is wrong?"  
  
"Leave me alone Legolas!" She replied, and took a step ahead. At that time, a loose stone slid out of place and fell towards the courtyard side, taking Arinomialwen's foot with it. She screamed and grabbed onto the edge of the roof, her hands quickly slipping.  
  
Legolas winced as he saw her fall because he hated heights and climbing on the roof of his palace, but he didn't hesitate to scramble out to where she had fell. If she fell, it would be his entire fault; he had called to her. The guilt was already welling up in him in huge waves. The elf swallowed a lump that was forming in his throat and continued on, tears now streaming down his cheeks.  
  
"Hold on!" He cried to the she-elf willing her with all his heart to hold on. After what seemed like hours, he inched to the point where she was and leaned down to grab her hands. She looked up at him hopelessly as she began to lose her failing grip.  
  
"Hold on!" he said desperately. "I'm trying!" She replied, equally desperate. Legolas grabbed her hands, but they were wet from her own tears.  
  
Her hands slipped from his as she began to fall.. 


	7. Confessions

Hello Everyone!! ::waves:: I know I haven't updated this For SOOO long, but private school applications along with school work has taken up all my time, so I just got back to writing. If there is anyone reading this.. But oh well, if you do read this I hope you enjoy! I still seem to have writers block, so I'm using this chapter to sort of shake cobwebs out of my brain, so it probably will be very short and not too good, so please forgive me! It's also a fluff chapter.  
  
  
  
Without thinking Legolas launched himself after her, caring not for his life or anything but rescuing her. The elf desperately grabbed her wrist in a death grip, and she grabbed onto his other hand for a tight hold.  
  
Fortunately for both of them, his feet managed to latch onto the edge of the tiling, keeping him from plunging to his death, but he wasn't strong enough to pull both of them up with his feet, so, for the moment, they were stuck.  
  
"Are you ok?" He asked the she-elf below him. Arinomialwen didn't know how to respond. What she wanted most dearly right now was to just throw herself at him and tell him everything. However, her pride wouldn't allow that, after all her attempts to ignore Legolas, going back to him would seem like. The she-elf shook her head at her own foolishness. Pride was nothing anymore. Gimli's words had been bouncing around her head since they were spoken, and now everything seemed like too much to bear. In a way she wished that he would let go of her, and just let her plunge to the ground, to her death. Before she was forced to react, strong arms pulled Legolas away from his desperate perch on the roof, bring Arinomialwen with him.  
  
For both of them, time seemed to blur as they were brought down the roof by an Aragorn very happy for the elvish skills he acquired in Rivendell, and a very unhappy dwarf who did not seem happy that he had had to help in the roof rescue. Finally, when both elves were wrapped in blankets and stowed in Aragorn's room, both holding steaming cups of tea, time seemed to slow to its normal pace again. The entire situation would have been all too dramatic if it were not for Gimli choosing that very moment to shake his head violently and saying something about stupid elves making him get wet. Aragorn was going to say something but decided against it and simply left the room. Gimli followed, grunting some kind of weak excuse after a tug on the beard from Aragorn.  
  
At first Legolas didn't know what to say. Automatically words began to come out of his mouth.  
  
"Arinomialwen I."  
  
"No, don't." She interrupted in a horse whisper. "This is all my fault, please-"  
  
"It's not your fault!" He told her firmly. "It's-"  
  
"We're not going to get anywhere interrupting each other!" Arinomialwen pointed out to him.  
  
"Hypocrite!" he accused her  
  
"Who are you talking about, you or me?" she said, a smiling playing across her features.  
  
"I was talking about you! A noble elf as me would never-" He continued but was cut off as a pillow from Aragorn's bed came directly at his face. He countered with another pillow, but she dodged it and ran for the other side of the bed where more pillows resided. She never got there however, due to the fact that Legolas grabbed her from behind and pushed her onto the bed, commencing to grab a nearby pillow and violently hit her with it until it broke and feathers went everywhere. For the first time in what seemed like years, the childish laughter of the two best friends filled the castle. Gimli and Aragorn who had retreated to the next room over looked very smug with themselves.  
  
After the laughter died down, both elves, looking like giant white birds because they were covered in white feathers get serious.  
  
"Legolas?" Arinomialwen said, dreading what she would have to say to him, but knowing that she had to say it.  
  
"Yes?" He asked, picking feathers out of his hair and sensing her anxiety.  
  
"There's something. I need to tell you."  
  
"I know" He replied.  
  
"How?"  
  
"I Can feel it." Legolas replied simply.  
  
"While you were on the fellowship." Arinomialwen faltered, the pain of the memories coming back to her again. "An elf came here briefly. He claimed to be from Lorién and asked to stay for a season due before moving on because of the snows that hindered his jounrey. Your father welcomed him rather confusedly because he thought that surely Galadriel would have warned him if anyone was coming to Mirkwood. This elf was very interested in the castle, the way it was built and the way that we fended off attacks during the Great War. No one thought that he was at all suspicious, and I was allowed to show him around since I know it so well." She stopped again, for the next part was when she could seemingly no longer force herself to recall what happened next. Legolas noticed this and put his hand on hers, willing her to go on. He could sense that something about this conversation was very important.  
  
"We got to know each other, and then we become more then friends, more or less lovers for awhile. At first he was wonderfully kind and caring, reminding me I guess a little of you. So I consented to his forwarding moves on our. relationship. It got to a phase when we were kissing, and no more then that, when he started to get possessive. And when he pushed to go farther. I refused him. He started to threaten me, and suddenly he knew everything about me. All my secrets, my best friend." She cut off, trying to fend off tears before pushing herself on.  
  
"One day I ran from him into the forest, but he caught me. I think he would have had me and then taken my life but for the castle guards that were scouting around and coming towards where he had caught me. He told me that he's come back, and then disappeared. I haven't seen him since, but when I ran. It reminded me of him when you caught up with me and." She cut off, too choked up with tears to go on. He put an arm around her, understanding.  
  
"I would never, you know that I wouldn't-" He said to her quietly. She nodded.  
  
"I know, I know, but the memory was so painful, I thought that I'd forgotten about it. He scared me the way that he controls me, and his final threat." Legolas was about to comment on this when another voice came in the room.  
  
"I'm glad that you remember me promise my dear. Now I've come to make good on it."  
  
That was my version of shaking cobwebs away. I'm sorry if it was awful! FYI I'm not intending to make a romance between them, just friendship, unless people want otherwise. Please R/R  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything at all from LOTR and am making no profits from writing this, except for my own enjoyment which I hope you won't take away from me! 


	8. Confrontation

Well, I guess people liked the last chapter, so I'll write another for this. Truth be told I don't really know where I'm going with this; I just come up with stuff as I go, so please, any ideas will be gratefully taken. This chapter may also be pretty short!  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from LOTR, but I own Arinomialwen and Engwafinion so please don't take them away!  
  
Thank you so much to all my reviewers!!  
  
DeadSexy - I actually did want to put the hobbits in this, so keep your eyes pealed for them really soon! I'm glad you liked it! Also, I think I might make it a romance, but I'll just have to wait and see!  
  
Brittney- Glad you liked it, and yes, I'm a huge fan of Tamora Pierce! Thus, my pen name!  
  
ElsalhirErestar- Please don't combust! I'm putting up a new chapter right now! Yes, this is really sad I hope, because that was how I intended it to be.  
  
Silent Echoes- DIE MELODEE!! Well too bad, marching band doesn't have to be my excuse; I actually wrote most of this during marching band.  
  
Any way. on with the chapter..  
  
Legolas cursed himself for not being alert enough to sense the new presence in the room. Normally he would have easily noticed with others had entered, but he had been so busy focusing on Arinomialwen. Instantly, he sprang up and reached for the nearest weapon, as did the she-elf beside him. What his hands first grabbed was one of Aragorn's swords, and he picked it up unsure about using it, only having a little experience with one. He cursed himself again for not having a weapon with him. Arinomialwen fared little better and picked up a long knife that was on the bedside table. They both turned to face the newcomer at once, weapons drawn.  
  
Legolas tried to take in the appearance of the elf in front of him. He was slightly taller then Legolas with dark hair that was tried back neatly in several braids, similar to his own hair style. He was strongly built with bright green eyes that blazed both hatred and love at the she-elf beside him. In his hand was a drawn sword Legolas took one look at her face and saw that it was definitely the elf that she had just told him about, for she showed signs of fear and contempt towards him.  
  
"What is it that I can help you with?" Legolas spoke to him, asking courteously but with a hint of warning in his voice.  
  
"I come simple for what belongs to me," answered the elf with the same about of courtesy and warning. "And what may I ask, is that?" Legolas asked dangerously, gripping the weapon in his hand and wishing that he had had more training with it.  
  
"Her." The elf said, almost in a whisper, gesturing towards Arinomialwen.  
  
"Arinomialwen belongs to no one but herself!" Legolas said, stepping in front of the girl, but to his surprise, she pushed him out of the way and stepped forward herself.  
  
"Go away Engwafinion!" She said firmly. Legolas saw her tremble visibly and wondered if she knew that his name meant "Evil deceiver".  
  
"Only if you come with me!" the elf responded, taking a step closer to her. Arinomialwen fought to stop trembling. She couldn't let Legolas take this fight though, for she would never forgive herself if he got hurt taking a fight for her. Engwafinion's fighting skills were very good, and Though Legolas was also a trained warrior, he had barely ever touched a sword.  
  
"I will die before I do!" She said, preparing herself to fight.  
  
"I think not," Engwafinion responded, gripping his sword tightly, "But perhaps your little friend will!" He launched himself at Legolas, slashing and swiping with the deadly weapon in his hand. Only Legolas' quick instincts kept him alive as he ducked and blocked with his own weapon. Engwafinion was an excellent swordsman and would easily beat Legolas in any regular match, but Legolas was much quicker, and much cleverer. He wove his way around the room until he was near enough Arinomialwen to grab the knife the she held away from her and whispered a few hasty words to her. She knew that arguing would not help at this point and immediately ran out of the room. Engwafinion didn't notice or ignored her leaving, because he continued his rush on the elf in front of him. With a little bit of struggle, Legolas managed to twirl the two blades that he had, one small and one large, around his hands, and turned the tide of the attack, as Engwafinion could not block both blades at once and had to back away.  
  
Legolas turned around and landed a kick to Engwafinion's head, slightly dazing his opponent. However, he made a quick come back by managing to hit Legolas' sword hand hard with the flat of his blade, causing the elf to fight for possession of the blade, which he won after a severe struggle. Both elves were very talented in weaponry and probably could have fought for several hours, even with Legolas' improved weapon, but Engwafinion soon found that another blade was pressed to the back of his neck. He lowered his weapon to find Aragorn standing behind him, sword now resting on his throat. Gimli was not far behind with his ax and Arinomialwen with a strung bow.  
  
"Drop your weapon!" She told him in a quiet, but deadly voice. "Or I will loose this!" she indicated the arrow notched on her bow. Engwafinion Simply smirked, then quicker then Aragorn could have countered, leapt away from him and spoke a few quick words that no other in the room could understand. He disappeared in a cloud of black dust. Leaving behind the trailing words of,  
  
"We'll meet again sooner then you think!"  
  
"Well that was fun." Legolas said wryly, letting himself sink down onto the bed. The once neat room was now a complete disaster with overturned furniture and several feathers floating around.  
  
"Stupid elf doesn't even know how to use a sword properly!" Gimli said, baiting his elven friend for a fight.  
  
"Well a dwarf couldn't even pick up a sword because it is taller then him!" Legolas retorted, laughing as he saw that Aragorn's sword was indeed slightly longer then Gimli. Aragorn interrupted them before the exchange of insults could escalate too much.  
  
"I think I missed something here. Would you care to explain why you were fighting another elf with my sword and knife?" Legolas turned to Arinomialwen.  
  
"You explain," he ordered her. "I am now even more confused myself." Arinomialwen took a breath and prepared herself to summarize her story for the man and the dwarf, when more figures rushed into the room. Aragorn recognized Legolas' chief general and several captains.  
  
"Milord!" One of them said to Legolas urgently.  
  
"What is it?" Legolas asked, not wanting to deal with another long session of debate on where their army was best placed.  
  
"There is an entire company of Orcs marching here. There must be at least a thousand. They seem to be led by one of our own kind!"  
  
TBC.  
  
Well, what did you think? Was it awful? I really don't know what I'm doing with this, please Review and tell me what you think. 


	9. In Dreams

I'm back! ::much cheering from non-existent audience:: I'm so sorry that I've been awful about updating, I've just been really, really busy with lots of stuff and unable to write, but I promise from now on I'll try to be much better about it, so please bear with me!  
  
Author's note: I used some elvish in this chapter, shamelessly stolen from the fiction "Bound and Torn" by Aireroswen, if you are mad at my language stealing, 1000000000 apologies but I was too lazy to go into the book and find my own insults. Sorry! If you want me to take them out, I will, but I put my own little twist on them so they're a little different.  
  
I made a mistake in saying that Legolas was the crown prince, he's not, but he's currently the only prince in Mirkwood as his brother's have sailed to Valinor. When this chapter takes place, they still resided in Mirkwood.  
  
This chapter is a dream sequence, and might be rather boring, but I just felt it necessary to give some background on my AU world and Legolas' friendship with Arinomialwen. Also, I'm thinking about making this a Legomance, but I'm not sure if I should keep it at friendship or not. any opinions?  
  
Chapter 9  
  
(Dream sequence)  
  
She hated Mirkwood, hated everything about it! It seemed like she felt that way about most things now, but it didn't really matter. Her father had dragged her here all the way from Lorién. After mother had been killed by Orcs, he had seen her ghost all over the beautiful woods, and thus decided to take her to Mirkwood, as the Lady had recommended him to Thranduil to general troops, and the king agreed (which was unusual considering Mirkwood's relations with other elves), welcoming any elf recommended by the lady herself. Even though no love was lost between the lady and Thranduil, there was a great respect that kept tensions at ease. Arinomialwen however, was taken from her friends, her lifestyle, and the beautiful Lorién to the darkness of Mirkwood.  
  
She had never been a very social elf. Yes, she had a few friends in the forests, but she had always disliked the easy play of the young, preferring the company of adults instead of children. It was most likely because her mother and father were often out on patrols keeping the forests safe, she had very little parenting. She liked to spend most of her free time following Haldir, the high guard of Lorién around. At first the much older elf had disliked the younger she-elf following him around, but after she refused to stop, he became impressed with her resilience and allowed her to follow, sometimes even allowing her be a back-up archer when any threat came close, though until the beginning of the falling shadows, there were few attacks.  
  
The young girl strode down the stairs of the palace, very alone and preferring it that way as her father continually tried to make her 'like' her new home, as he was delighted with the new surroundings for what un- godly reason she couldn't comprehend. Yes, the forests of Mirkwood were beautiful, but they were nothing compared to the forests of her home and she was never allowed to go far outside the palace because of the threat of Orc and Spiders. Though her training with knife and bow was good because of the early times in Lorién when her father taught his daughter the art of fighting, she was mo match for an entire nest of spiders, especially after all the stories that Thranduil had told her about elves who wandered too far during one of his attempts to make her feel at "home"  
  
"I have no home!" she muttered out loud to herself as she began her descent into the forest, quickly jumping into one of the trees nearest to her and quickly springing to another limb across the way, making her way deeper and deeper into the forest. Finally, about a half hour later when she was reaching the boundaries of the areas that she had explored before she sat on a limb in the lower area of the tree so that the foliage would cover her if anyone came looking for her. She leaned back to listen to the tree talking, but found no peace in it as the trees of Mirkwood talked only of the falling darkness upon them.  
  
"Why did my life have to go up in flames?" she yelled louder then she meant to, spurred by the anger within her. To her extreme surprise, a voice replied to her question.  
  
"At least you have a life!" The voice responded with a hint of reproach in it. "At least you aren't paraded around like a prize without any true friend, without even a true purpose!" The voice grew closer and closer until Arinomialwen saw a hurtling blur of green and gold come towards her, and another elf about her age was nimbly perched in the edge of her bough, looking at her with an expression of interest. She recognized the figure right away.  
  
"Prince Legolas!" He had been introduced to her the very first day that she and her father had arrived at Mirkwood. He had been formally polite and detached when talking to her, and she had thought him extremely dull and over formal. She knew that a certain respect was due to him, but she was not in the mood and was extremely embarrassed that he had observed one of her outbreaks.  
  
"You do to have a purpose," She told him in an exasperated tone; "You have to rule your realm!"  
  
"I do not!" he countered in a similar tone. "I am not the firstborn and thus I will never rule unless all my brothers perish mysteriously or sail to the havens which they will not do considering the fact that all they care about it their crown!" Arinomialwen had meant the oldest son of Thranduil and was forced to agree with the younger brother. He was only interested in things that affected his land and had little sense of humor or imagination. He would be a fine king, but was good at little else. Still, the she-elf would not be outdone by the dull prince.  
  
"You are a warrior of Mirkwood! You have a duty to protect your people!"  
  
"Not if they don't let me take ANY patrols or let me do any fighting because I'm too Young or too important to risk my life!" He replied with extreme distaste. "I'm living a life of uselessness. At least you HAD a good life for awhile!" With that, he fell into a melancholy silence, not moving away from the branch that he was now sharing with Arinomialwen.  
  
"Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to be left alone so that I can try and pick up the ashes of what was my life!" the she-elf demanded, not wanting to have to spend anymore time with anyone though she had become slightly interested about the new persona of the prince. Legolas however was in no mood to take orders.  
  
"Ah, you forget, I'm the prince of Mirkwood, and one cannot order me to move by any means." This comment caused the she-elf's temper to explode.  
  
"You'll leave or I'll make you!" She hissed, taking out her knives.  
  
"Auta miqula Balrog!" was the prince's reply, drawing his own weapons.  
  
"Le fuio nin!" Arinomialwen replied. Both elves jumped to the ground and crouched into fighting positions. What happened next was very vague in Arinomialwen's memory, but she remembered it ending up with the two of them on the ground wrestling, and then eventually breaking into fits of laughter. They had walked back to the castle that day laughing and joking like old friends. The dream began to melt away as the two of them grew up, both becoming taller and different, but their friendship was as strong as ever. Another distinct memory came up.  
  
The girl had been following Legolas all day. She was the daughter of one of Thranduil's advisers, and though she was very, very pretty, she was vain, cruel, and had no like for anything but talking about which dress best matched her eyes. Her current aim was to get a betrothment to Legolas who was desperately trying to avoid her without being impolite. Arinomialwen had come to his rescue with an incident involving a wet floor, Arinomialwen, and one of the many palace fountains. It was the last time that anyone tried to get a betrothment to the prince while Arinomialwen as in proximity. She had been confined to her rooms for 2 weeks after the incident, though Legolas visited her every day, laughing and joking, their friendship as strong as ever. At the end of the two weeks, Legolas was called away to the council, and the exchanging of their gifts.  
  
Arinomialwen? Arinomialwen? Arinomialwen? Wake up!  
  
The she-elf tried to dwell in her happy memories but something urgent was calling her to the present. she grappled for them but they were lost..  
  
Ok, probably really strange, boring chapter, but I thought I ought to put it in. Sorry!  
  
TBC..  
  
Lady-Daine  
  
Crikett: I'm glad you liked it! (  
  
Ambrose: Thank you soooo much for your ideas, they helped me out a lot! This chapter's for you and your need for back round, I hope it's ok! I'm working on making the flow better, and I know it's been choppy due to the fact that I update so little that by the time I get a new chapter out, my ideas are all changed and my writing style is different. No, Arinomialwen is not a Mary-Sue, please tell me if you think I'm making her too perfect because she's not!  
  
Silent Echoes: Hi Melodee! I'm glad you like this story, though I thought you didn't like lotr! Oh well, I'm glad that evil marching flutists are reviewing my stuff!  
  
Courtney: Glad you liked it, and as soon as you give me dragon mage I'll update that!  
  
Lady-Star: It is very sad, but I think that there will be a happy ending to this!  
  
Elvish translations:  
  
Auta miqula Balrog - go kiss a balrog  
  
Le fuio nin - you disgust me 


End file.
